Method and apparatus for sideseaming can bodies



May 25, 1954 H. F. JoHNsoN METHOD AND APPARATUS Fon SIDE-SEAMING CANBooms Filed June 2, 194e s sheets-sheet 1 wf mf ,N 7M l r .j

May 25, 1954 H. F. JQHNsoN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIDE-SEAMING CANBODIES Filed June 2, 1.949

C5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Il IVOIII l May 25, 1954` H. F. JOHNSON 2,679,222y

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIDEI-SEAMING CAN BODIES Filed Jun 2, 1949 ssheets-sheet s INVENTOR. Herbe?" f7 JW@ 235m@ Patented May 25, 1954UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIDE- SEAMING CANBODIES Herbert F. Johnson, Baldwin, N. Y.

lApplication J une 2, 1949, Serial No. 96,670 6 claims. (c1. 11s-12) Mypresent invention relates to a can bod5T making machine and aims toprovide certain improvementstherein. More particularly it relates to amachine for making can bodies of the type disclosed in my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 82,957, led March 23, 1949, now Patent'No.

In the manufacture of sheet metal cans for packaging various items, andparticularly in the manufacture of-sheet metal cans for packagingfoodstuffs and the like, wherein non-contamination of the contents is animportant problem, it is the current practice to utilize what is knownas a can body machine comprising a vbody maker and side seamer. Such abody maker usually receives a supply of blanks from astack, andsuccessively passes such blanks through 5 to l stations whereatsuccessive operations are performed on each sheet metal blank to form itinto a can body. The operations customarily performed at these variousstations comprise feeding, flexing, notching and edging of the blank andthen forming the prepared blank into a can body. One or more idlestations are usually provided between the feeding and notching stations,and idle stations are also usually provided between the notching, edgingand forming stations.

At the notching station of such a can body maker, the corners on one endof the blank are notched or cut away, and the other end of the sameblank is simultaneously provided with corresponding slits or incisions.At the edging station the end portions of the blank between theincisions on one end and the notches on the other end are bent back inopposite directions so as to provide oppositely-turned hooks which maybe interlocked when the blank is wrapped around the horn at the formingstation. At the forming station the blank is wrapped around theconven-.tional horn to assume the general shape of the can body, the oppositelyturned edges of the blank or hooks are interlocked, and such hooks arebumped to form the conventional side seamof the can body. After the sideseam is formed, the can body is moved to the soldering station where theconventional rotary solder rolly is utilized to provide the necessarysolder to sweatsolder the side seam. The can body is then transferred toa anger where the top and bottom edges of the can body are flangedoutwardly to receive the' can ends and for the subsequent operation ofdouble seaming.

In the formation of can bodies on machines of the type above-described,it has been found that ldue to the raw edges at the ends of the blankand the step-down of metal thickness at said ends in forming the steam,minute unsoldered pinholes frequently are formed in the side seam. Ithas also been found, after the soldering operation, that minute holeshave been formed between the can ends and the side seam at the innercorners of the notches, and that such small holes, in fact, expose a rawedge of the can body. The minute holes in the side seam and the minuteholes which occur at the notched corners both provide air leaks .whichfacilitate contamination of the contents of the can.

Among the objects of my invention are; To provide a body making machinein which the number of stations and operations on a can blank arereduced, thereby to simplify and reduce the cost of can making machinesand of the cans made thereon; to reduce the overall dimensions of suchmachine and to thereby conserve space; to provide a can body makingmachine in which a longitudinal seam is formed in a can body withinthree stations or less and without cutting or notching the blank; toprovide a can body making machine wherein the side seam is formed byflanging and drawing complemental portions of a blank and thenlock-seaming said complemental portions; to provide a machine adapted tomake can bodies of the type disclosed in my aforementioned applicationin a continuous and emcient manner.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention not specificallyenumerated I accomplish by providing a can body making machine whichwill feed 11a-t sheet metal blanks to a can body horn, and while held byclamping wings, simultaneously form the overlapped ends of the blanks,one with a groove and the other with a flange disposed within thegroove, and will then fold back the interengaged walls of the metalformed by the fiange and the walls of the groove against the metal ofthe blank to provide a locked seam, at least one end of which terminatesshort of the end of the resulting can body. The invention will be betterunderstood from the detailed description which follows, when consideredin connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a rear elevation of a can body making machineembodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the plane of the line -Z of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the can body horn and' of thecomplemental dies and the male die operating means for preforming theside seam in the can body.

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the plane of the 3 line 4-4 of Fig. 3,the feed rollers for the blank being shown in elevation.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the plane or the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a metal blank from which the can body isformed.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a can body formed from the blank shown inFig. 6 and particularly showing the side seam of the can.

Fig. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken along the plane of theline 8-8 o Fig. 7.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 diagrammatically show the progressive steps in whichthe side sea-rn shown n in Fig. 8 is formed by the can body making machine shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

ln the drawings, the same reference characters designate thecorresponding parts in the various gures. n

Before describing the machine shown. in Figs. 1 to 4, will describe thetype or seam and can body which the' machine of the present invention isadapted to make. Such can body I (Figs. 'I and 8) has a longitudinalside seam i5, the said can body being preferably formed from arectangular sheet -inetal blank I'i by forming at one oi' the endsthereof an outwardly directed ilange Se and at the other end portion orthe blank an outwardly directed groove I9, the iange It and the walls 29and 2l of the groove being coextensive, interengaged', lock-seemed andfolded back against the end portion 22 of the blank end formed with thegroove I9, and against the body portion of the blank adjacent the endformed with the iiange IS. The flange I9 and the groove I9 terminate attheir opposite ends short of the edges 23 and Z4' of the blank and themetal at the ends of the blank between said edges and the' ends of 'theflangeY and the ends of the groove respec-k tively is uncut, unflang'ed,ungrooved and integral with the ange'd and theV grooved portions,respec# tively; and in single thickness overlying relation. The seam iebetween the approximate points and 25a on Fig. l is constituted by atleast four thicknesses or metal, the innermost of which bears againstthe' can body longitudinallybeyond said points 25 and 25a by lappedsingle'thicknes'ses of metal, and said seam, when formed on the maichine of the presentl invention in the manner' hereinafterdescribed, maybe soldered or notas desired, depending upon the character of thecontents to be packaged in the can.

The flange i8 and the groove i9 are simulitaneously formed by a die unitof the can body making machine, said die unit comprisinga re: ciprocablepressure foot 25 movable into engagement with the lapped end portions ofthe blank for clamping them against the horn or body forme er 26o, amale die or punch 2, a female die 28 having a socket which preferably iswider than the combined width of both the punch and three thicknessesI8, 2t and 2| of the met'ai blank, as particularly seen in Fig. 9, andanking said socket spaced protruding lips 28a and 28h for contacting andengaging spaced portions of the outer lap of the blank, thereby tovprovide two hold-downs for the lapped' portions of the blank, namely, bythe lip' 28a and the outer pressurev foot 26, and a single hold-down bythe lip 25h during the drawing operation, the die 28 being reciprocablein the same direction as the pressure foot 26,- and a transverselyreciprocable slide 29, which is operable in timed relation to thereciproca-tion of the punch and the die, respectively. A @he operationof the machine in simultaneous- 1y forming th Harige I8 and in drawingthe groove I9 in the blank while positioned around the horn a will bepresently described. However, it may be here explained that in thedrawing operation the grooved end portion of the blank has its top andbottom edges 3G (Fig. 7) drawn inwardly toward each other and out oftrue alignment with the edges 23 and 24, and the end portion 22 of theblank beyond the groover has its edge drawn inwardly between the extremeend of the top and bottom edges B, as best shown at tI in Fig. 7. In'view of the inward drawing of the top and bottorn edges as shown at 3ithe equivalent or chamil'ers at said lapped ends of the blank areprovided, thus` preparing the outer edges 3i so they will not projectbeyond the edges 23 and 24 during the flanging of the ends of the canbody. The drawn" edges 3D and 3| also provide a means for accommodatingsolder where the seams are to be soldered. 1

Referring now to Figs". 1 to 5 of the drawings, the machine comprises avfrance 32 having mounted thereinan operating shaft 3S adapted to bedriven a pulley Se or equivalent means. Suitably mounted inthe freine isthe can body horn Zimt,-v the left hand portion 26o of which inay beconsidered the blank-receiving or feed-in station which is substantiallyencircled by horn blank guides 35 and 35d, an axially spaced right handportion 2te 'which may be considered the forming stationwhch issubstantially encircled by horn wings 3b, a conventional support 3l fora stackuof sheet metalrcan body blanks IT, and means for feeding saidblanks to the horn com-v prising suctioncups 39, a pusher rod 4B, feedrolls liI and means for forming the seam presently to be described. Y id Y, l

At the feed-in station the hornl portion 2th is formed with a shoulder42a on a part I2 (Fig. e) which may be vformed as apermanent magnet forengaging and stopping the leading end IIa of a blank when fed tor saidhorn portion, said part i2 being provided with an'outer shield @2bpreferably made, of brass, which prevents the blank from beingv hinderedin its path around the horn, V For moving a blank along the horn fromthe blank-receiving station 26h to the forming station 29C there isprovided ay pair of fingers 43 pivotally carried by feed bars 4 4movable in longitudinally-eXtendingV recesses l in the Yperiphery At theforming sta-tion the horn is provided with thermale die or punch 21which Ais movable radially outwardly by a reciprocable horn wedge cam 46extending throughthe horn, said horn wedge cam being operable by avertically mov-V able wedge rod il through suitable linkages y11'8anddkbymacam 50 mounted on the operating shaft 3?. VThe horn wedge cam46 has cam surfaces 5I which cooperate with complemental cam surfaces 52on the, punch for operating the latter, and the cam 46 isy returnable toits inoperative positionby spring meansl 53 after the' punch hasperformed its drawing andgforming-operations. For permitting movementofthe 4male punch 2 1 relatively tothehorn, the latter is appropriatelyrecessed and formedwith ller ysegments 54 having outer curved surfacesproviding'oontinuations of the horn outer surface,I the Vsaidillersegments being held within the horn by screws 55|. Ifhe male punchl hastransvers'e'pins 5S extending therethrough, against which operatescompression springs 5l for returning the punch to its inoperative'posit-16eu @dei .pr super-.eatery m1111- eegiar naar geraete ,the reg-'ecam to its inoperative position.` 'The horn wings are operated to holdthe canbody blank firmly against the horn at the forming station withvtheends of the blankY inpredetermined-overlapped relationV underlyingthe male punch 2l, the horn wings being movable into clamping relationby Ytoggle arms 58 which, inturn, are operable -b'y thelever-59, rod 60and cam 6|. supplemental means-for holding the blank in position lo nthehorn at .the forming station while n,permitting axial movement of theblank along thehorn is'provided `by a'pressure bar 62 urged.l toward thehornby--awplurality of springs 63 actingfagain'st a bracket64 carried bythe machine frame, The lapped Yendsof the blank are rmly heldagainst'the .horn during the seam-forming operation by the outerVVpressure foot 26 whichis adapted to be moved into contact with saidlapped 'xd'sand held vthereagainst .bya` cam VB6. The lapped ends of theblank may be supplementally held during the drawing operation by thelips 28a and 28h of the female die 28 which is operable by a cam 61.

After the male die or punch 21 is operated to form the ange I8 at oneend of the blank and the groove I9 adjacent the lapped other end of theblank, as shown in Fig. 9, both the male and the female dies recede andthe interengaged ange and side walls of the groove in between the endsof the blank are folded over by the side slide 29 which is reciprocablein any preferred manner, herein shown as being mounted on a slide 69 andmovable by a connection 10 which is eccentrically mounted on a stubshaft 1I rotatable from the driving shaft through a pair of -miter gears12 and 13. After the interengaged seam has been folded over and the sideslide 29 has receded, the female die 28 is moved upwardly by its cam 61so that the arm 28a of the die bumps the seam against the body of thehornl thus completing the seam. The various means which operate to holdthe blank firmly onto the horn are then released. As hereinbeforementioned, the length of the interengaged portion of the side seam isless than the height of the can blank, wherefore the upper ends of thepressure foot engage the lapped portions of the blank adjacent Ythe sideedges thereof in addition to engaging the blank adjacent the line ofseam. In view of the fact that the side slide 29 must move intoengagementwith the seam while the pressure foot is in holding engagementwith the blank, the side of the pressure foot facing the slide 29 isrecessed to accommodate said side slide.

'I'he operation of the machine in forming side seams of the characterdescribed is as follows: Successive blanks are drawn from the bottom ofthe stack by the suction cups 39 which reciprocate in aV verticaldirection and bring the individual blanks from the stack level to thefeed level. At the feed level a blank is pushed horizontally toward thefeed rolls 4| by the reciprocating blank pusher 40, which operates in aconventional mamier. The feed rolls which are driven, feed the blank tothe blank-receiving or feed-in station 26h of the horn whereat the blankis wrapped around the horn and is given a preliminary cylindrical formby means of the spaced blank'guides 35 and 35a, the leading edge of theblank being stopped at a predetermined position by the shoulder 42a onthe part 42. The blank is then moved along the horn between the guides35 and 35a by the ngers 43 on the feed bars 44 to the forming station26e whereat the drawing, bending and bumping operations are allperformed. If

desired, a third station may be providedvon the horn for bumping theseam 'inwardly to provide an outwardly smooth surface, towhichstationthe formed can body maybe moved by an additional pair oflingers on the same feed bars 44. Where it is desired to solder the sideseam, the formed. can body may be again Vmoved to a solder -horn for theconventional soldering operation. At least two sets of fingers 43 areprovided -onthe feed bars 44 to advance the blank successively to eachstation, and if a third station-is required,. a third set of fingerswould be provided on the: feed bars.

In the operation of forming the flanges andthe groove inthe lapped endsof the blank on the horn in forming the side seam, thepunch 21 and thedie 28 only require very short strokes, which may be less thanone-quarter the length of the strokes conventionally required for theedging, notching and bumping of blanks on conventional machines. Also,in View of the fact that with the machines of the present inventionfewer operating stations are required, it will be apparent that themachine of the present invention is capable of greater productivecapacity that prior machines.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be appreciated thatwhile I have shown and described a can body making machine capable ofaccomplishing the various objects of my invention as set forth in theopening statement of this specification, it is to be understood thatchanges in the details of construction thereof may be resorted to withinthe range of engineering skill without departing from the spirit of myinvention as clened in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making a seam for sheet metal cans or the like, whichcomprises bringing the ends of a blank into lapped surface contactingrelation and while holding said ends in clamped said relationsimultaneously forming an outwardly directed ange of less length thanthe distance between the edges of the blank at one lap end and formingby a drawing operation an outwardly directed groove of substantially thesame length as the'formed flange and coextensive therewith in the otherlap end with the flange disposed in the groove, and lock-seaming theengaging flange and groove walls.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the flange and the groove areformed without cuting the blank.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the lock-seaming of theinterengaged liange and the walls of the groove is performed while theunflanged and ungrooved parts of the lapped ends are held clamped intheir lapped relation.

4. A can body making machine comprising a can body horn having asideseam forming station, means for positioning and holding a sheet metalblank around said horn at said station with the ends of the blank inoverlapped surface contacting relation, a part of said holding meansengaging the longitudinal extremities of the overlapped ends, areciprocable punch and a cooperating die at said station between theextremities holding means and of less length than the lapped ends of theblank for acting on said lapped ends to simultaneously form therein by adrawing operation an outwardly directed flange at one of the lapped endsof the blank and a coextensive outwardly directed Agroove in the otherend portion of the blank with the flange disposed within the groove. andmeans for lock- :samingithe Lwa-11sof metaliprovided by the angefandthawalls iof thegroove. l

45.71 can :body y making lmachine according to fclaimiliA, wherein` ifiaic.. reciprocablepunch is mounted within therhorn Vior movernern'f,routwardly :through the* surface of the horn, -and meansf-,extenddnto thehorn and are voperative lfrom-'bhe.exteriorfofthe horn to operate saidpunch.

-6. A can body making machine Vaccording to claim wherein: saidfpunchand the means'for -operatingmsuch punch. have cooperating vcam surfaces.

-Referemees Cited in `the file of this patent` UNITEDSTATES PATENTS'Number Name Date @219,494 Milligan Sept. 9, 18'179 222.691' Gordon Dec.16, 1879 lNumber :.1

8 Name. Date Dolan Oct. 9, 1883 Gordon f Aug. 19, 1884 Symonds- Mar. 30,1886 :Salter Sept. 17, 1889 Wilse July 11, 1916 Stuart Apr. 27, 1926Meyers.1 July y 19, 1932 Cameronf Nov. 14, 1933 Werder; Oct. 15, 1935Brenzinger Dec. 19, 1939 Hothersa11 Jan. 23, 1940 Krueger Dec.Y 28, 1943Hubbell- July 18, 1944 Anderson@ June 29, 1948 Kruse- VJan..4, 1949Adamson Aug. 14, 1951 Johnson- Dec. Y 9, 1952

